Stanley’sExperience at the Accountability, Advocacy and Policy Influencing Workshop

I realized from the workshop that different institutions have different age limit in terms of youth definition, but concluded in our discussion that, a youth is someone who falls between the ages (15-35) years, energetic and having the potential to succeed. Moreover, people who should be concerned about youth development include: businesses, politicians, civil societies and the youth

I learnt that issues hampering youth development in Ghana include partisan politics, unemployment, short term policies without effective implementation, and non-involvement of youth in decision making process.I also learnt that advocacy means calling for change and this change always happens at least three phases which the head (knowledge), heart (attitude) and hands (practical implementation).

I learnt that service providers must reach users (community people) at the community level and discuss their issues before solution or implementation is done. Assisting community people involves commitment and spirit of volunteerism. Most projects abandoned by service users because they were not invited or participated in the decision making process. Lastly, I learnt that leadership is how one aligns pragmatic solutions to challenges.